


Captive of the Serpent Woman

by Skaea Daimonion (SkarmorySilver)



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Foot Fetish, Monster Girl, One Shot, Patreon reward, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkarmorySilver/pseuds/Skaea%20Daimonion
Summary: This story was created for and uploaded alongside the monthly reward on my Patreon for January 2020, pictured just below; I co-wrote it with a friend who wishes to remain anonymous but gave me permission to use their original character. I should've uploaded this publicly when I shared the reward on my DeviantArt, but regardless, here it is. I hope you enjoy it!You can find the high-definition version of this artwork on my Patreon, along with an additional version lacking the Patreon watermark and with a different signature and a TIFF file version with all layers. Check it out below:PATREON REWARD FOR JANUARY 2020Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale(c) Rumiko Takahashi
Kudos: 2





	Captive of the Serpent Woman

**Author's Note:**

> _This story was created for and uploaded alongside the monthly reward on my Patreon for January 2020, pictured just below; I co-wrote it with a friend who wishes to remain anonymous but gave me permission to use their original character. I should've uploaded this publicly when I shared the reward on my DeviantArt, but regardless, here it is. I hope you enjoy it!_
> 
> _You can find the high-definition version of this artwork on my Patreon, along with an additional version lacking the Patreon watermark and with a different signature and a TIFF file version with all layers. Check it out below:_   
>  _  
>  [PATREON REWARD FOR JANUARY 2020](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://www.patreon.com/posts/33569866)   
>  _
> 
> Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale _(c) Rumiko Takahashi_

#  _**** _

#  _**Captive of the Serpent Woman  
** _

_by Skaea and an anonymous co-writer_  
  
  
_****Contains:**** */M tickling, concentrating on foot tickling but with some upperbody tickling. SFW._

________________________________________

It was supposed to have been a SIMPLE endeavor. Just get in, find the demon piece, and get out of there with Kagome none the wiser. But apparently, the half-demon’s foe had anticipated his arrival. And she was stronger than he had thought. And faster. And noticeably more cunning. He had in fact been overwhelmed so quickly that he hadn’t realized what was happening before he’d ended up being restrained and dragged back to what was presumably her lair.

Well, so much for a quick excursion.

And that was how Inuyasha now found himself in the grasp of a female demon, dark-haired woman above and red-scaled serpent below with four arms instead of two, who had wrapped him up and held his arms over his head, letting her have her way with his strong body and large bare feet. All while stuck in the depths of a cave in the middle of nowhere, destined to not be found by anyone until he somehow got out.

“Wha… what in the? Whaddya want?” he mumbled, trying to escape her coils, but swiftly realizing that he couldn’t. His mind was still reeling from his defeat some time earlier, but naturally, his first thought was making an exodus before things got messy.

The demon chuckled, one set of arms holding his wrists hostage while she carried him deeper into her lair. “Oh I just want to have some fun with the handsome demon who wandered into my home,” she cooed seductively to him. “Just relax… You’ll get nice and cozy soon.”

“Nice and cozy… Tch. Sounds like the kinda thing someone’ll say to lie to me about not wantin’ to kill me. You sure you’re gonna do that, or…?” he asked, looking uneasy and wondering where his sword went. It turned out that she had knocked his sword away into the shadows during the fight, but maybe she’ll collect it later once he was broken in. It’d no doubt be a nice decor item…

It wasn’t long before the serpent demon had carried him to a room with some surprisingly nice bondage devices. Less than a minute had passed before she brought him to a pair of padded shackles in the wall. She held his wrists still while she locked the padded cuffs around them, knowing the fight he’d been known to put up against demons such as her.

Inuyasha was chained now to the wall, arms over his head, while she had all four arms free to have her way with him.

“Theeeere~! Such a handsome man… All mine now…” She cooed sweetly, her coils holding his legs out so his bare feet were exposed. At the sight of this, she moved herself over in front of those large feet, licking her lips as her eyes drank up the details of those magnificent size fifteens.

“That’s not very reassurin’…” He shivered a little. “Wha… What are you doin’ to my feet, or whatcha gonna do? You’re lookin’ at them an awful lot… uh…”

She chuckled, reaching forward and lightly running her long, sharp nails up his soles from heel to toes. “You need to relax. So tense… Just smile~”

He suddenly stiffened, his eyes widening. He had to bite his bottom lip to restrain his giggles; he didn’t know how his feet were so ticklish even though he ran barefoot all the time, but of course she’d start doing this. It was embarrassing, especially the arousal!

She chuckled, leering at him as she lightly tapped her nails against the bottoms of his feet.

“Ohh… A ticklish boy~?” She crooned, her voice full of mischief as she lightened the tickles on his feet.

He continued trying to suppress the giggles which were bubbling up uncontrollably, trying to curl his toes away from the tickles. Two arms would’ve been bad enough, but four? Ridiculous. He was gonna lose it soon enough!

The serpent-woman chuckled, her 40 fingers dancing happily against those soft, sensitive soles. “Oh yes… Yes, you’re very ticklish~ Oh but you’re trying to hold it back, hmm? No need to do that! Just let all those giggles out!” She grinned, starting to lightly scratch at the balls and heels of his feet.

“FFFF-! Nohohow you tell meeeheheheeee?!” he cries, unable to hold it in any longer and curling his toes at the tickly torment.

“Oh, such naughty, squirmy toes! Here, let me fix that~” She grinned, sending two of her hands behind his feet to hook her thumbs around his big toes, pulling them back so her nails could freely scratch the center of his arches. “Much better. You can’t hide these feet from me darling~!”

“AaaaAAAHAHAHAH NO FAHAHAIR!” he cried, wiggling his handsome head about as his large feet were now being tormented in full force. “At least tie them up and have ahahahat it!!”

She stopped tickling, grinning at him very widely.

“Oh? Shall I lock you in the stocks then? Tie these toes up and truly show you what these 40 fingers can do to your handsome, big feet~?” she crooned, wiggling her fingers in the air at him. “Do you want that?”

He gulped. Should he or should he not? His ego didn’t want it but then again there was no backing out. “N-no, no matter what you do you can’t break me!” he cries in mock bravado, smiling in challenge.

She chuckled, moving closer to him, slowly sliding her hands into his robes to lightly rub his chest and belly.

“Oh, I will~ And I’m going to keep you, my handsome puppy… And I’m going to tickle your big feet and strong body… Every… Single… Day~” She whispered in his ear, enticing him with the idea of many more tickles to come…

“Gaahahh… Well, I ain’t gonna be around that long, I gotta get back to Kagome and Miroku and all the others…” he mumbled. “But maybe I could stop by every so often if I want? …is that a good compromise, if you wanna?”

“Or do you just want me to come back with my sword and cut you to bits like a typical monster?” he teased.

She chuckled, walking her nails up and down his belly while her other hands moved to his armpits to start lightly tickling them.

“I think that if you try to chop me up, I’ll tickle you to death~” She cooed, lightly swishing the thick, feathery end of her tail against his soles.

“Oh very well… But you stay for a while each visit~ Maybe I can convince you one day to stay forever~ A handsome demon needs a good woman to keep him happy,” she said sultrily, winking as she tickled him.

He continued laughing and squirming, realizing that 1) she was probably going to overpower him now that she knew his weakness, and 2) THAT TAIL FEATHER TICKLED SO DAMN BAD…

She chuckled, leaning in closer and kissing his neck. “Maybe I can convince you today, hm~? Settle down, prop your feet up… And let me tickle them…” She whispered, finally backing off, uncoiling him and freeing his wrists from the shackles.

He glared at her, still panting heavily, but said nothing. There really wasn’t anything he could do by this point, except tough it out, most likely. He just hoped that he was made of sterner stuff than she expected.

“Well, I’ll take that as a yes. Come along lovely puppy… Your ‘throne’ awaits~” She winked, flicking her tail and swishing the feather tip across his belly teasingly as she slithered away.

With a yelp and a flurry of giggles, he clutched his ribs as he managed to get to his feet, still shaking uncontrollably. With no other choice, he followed her further into the cave, his heart sinking as the full comprehension of what he’d gotten himself into sank in at last.

*****

“So… What do you plan t’ do with me?” Inuyasha asked as he caught up with Himiko.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough, my dear… what is your name, hmm?”

“I… uh… Hmmph, alright. It’s Inuyasha…”

“Ah, fair enough. Cute name. But yes, there’s plenty more pleasures in store for you, as you shall see.”

“Wait, what kinda pleasures?”

“Right this way, my sweet little puppy~!”

She was in front of a smaller tunnel in the wall of the cave now. It led to another chamber just off the side of the passageway, lit with torches like the one he was currently in, but smaller than the previous one she’d kept him in. Hesitantly, he stepped through the tunnel, not known what he’d encounter or how he’d be able to fend it off if it proved to be too dangerous.

There, sitting in the center of that small, bare, torch-lit chamber, was an elaborate gilded chair, almost like a throne in shape, with a soft cushioned seat, and two extensions jutting from either side that had several leather straps dangling from them. The front part of it seemed to jut forward, and there, mounted where a footrest would normally be, was a pair of wooden stocks… complete with toe ties.

Inuyasha would swear he’d turned slightly pale. “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me… You really thought a lot about this, didn’tcha?”

She chuckled again, patting the soft seat.

“Oh of course~ Now, hop in my dear… Let Himiko show those feet a very good time~” She winked.

He gulped, but then shrugged, realizing that he had little choice. She meant no harm, after all, and as long as she didn’t try to eat him he’d not wish her harm. So he stepped in, and braced himself for what was to come.

She chuckled, raising his feet up and locking his ankles snugly in the padded holes, locking the stocks before grabbing his wrists and pinning them in a ‘Y’ pose, locking the padded shackles around his wrists and biceps.

“Good boy~!” She cooed, playfully patting his head before slithering back over to his feet, starting to wrap the loops of string around each toe, pulling them back one by one until Inuyasha’s big feet were taut and helpless.

“Now, my handsome puppy is all tied up and helpless…” Himiko cooed, smiling mischievously as her tail hovered over his belly. Even before her tail had contacted him, he was already giggling, like a puppy about to be scratched… He wanted to get it over with, but my GOD if Kagome walked in on this she’d never let him live it down. He was so glad this was private and between these two…

She grinned, before suddenly starting to skitter and dance her fingers aaaaall over his bare feet, from heels to between his toes. Her long nails showed him no mercy whatsoever as they played their ticklish dance along some of the most sensitive parts of his body. Her feathery tail meanwhile started swishing back and forth across his belly nice and quickly, showing a total lack of sympathy there as well. He suddenly started screaming and squirming, attempting to get away to absolutely no avail. It was absolute hell on all his sensitive spots… but why did he enjoy it?!

Himiko chuckled happily at the sight of the laughing, helpless half-demon, threading her fingers in between his toes to scratch the tender spaces while also raking up and down his smooth soles.

“Doesn’t this just feel soooo good~? You know you love it!” she trilled in her seductive whisper, almost like a serpent’s hiss. As she did this she kept going, moving her tail up to flutter in his armpits, switching back and forth leisurely.

Shrieking and squirming, he still resisted as best as he could, shaking his handsome head about madly and screaming at the top of his lungs. “AHAHAHAHAAIIEEEEHEHAHA!!! NO NO NONONOOOO! AND H-HERE I THOUGHT KAGOMEHEHE WAS A TICKLER WITH MAHAHAD SKIIIIIILLS!”

“Keep denying it all you want darling. You’ll break, and then you’ll be happy to let me tickle this handsome body for as long as I want~!” said Himiko, dragging her nails up and down his bare soles while her tail feather teased his abs and armpits, and even fluttered oh so delicately under his chin.

“NEHEHEHEVEHEHEHERRRR!” He laughed and laughed, wiggling about in his restraints in a bid to but still he continued resisting mentally; he did enjoy this to some degree, to his own consternation, but he wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction… even though she seemed to be having such a good time raking her nails up and down his large ticklish feet.

“Mmmm, think that all you like. You’ll give in eventually.” Himiko held his feet still with two of her hands; meanwhile, her other two hands lightly scribbled against his heels while she started using her long, wet, bifurcated tongue to lap slowly at his arch…

Laughing and squirming, he wanted to rapidly kick like a puppy getting its belly scratched, but his ankles were bound and he was all but helpless! That tongue was maddening, such a stimulating mixture of bumpy and slimy, not to mention how the forked end was acting almost like a pair of smaller feelers, tracing up and down all the delicate creases in his taut, spittle-slicked skin. He was unable to think clearly with it working its magic; he wanted so badly to resist, but it felt so good and so humiliating at the same time and he could hardly stand it! Kagome would’ve had a field day if she saw him like this…

“Mmmmmm, ahhh yes. No helpless man like you can resist tickles with my tongue!” Himiko teased, slipping her tongue in between his toes delicately to tickle the spaces in between those digits while her nails raked up and down his heels and arches.

And of course, that damned tail just kept dusting his hard abs side to side, trying to coax as much laughter out of him as possible.

“AAAAAAAHAHAHHA NOOOOHOHOHOOHOOO!” He shrieked and thrashed about uselessly in his spot. That damn _tongue_ was playing absolute hell on some of his worst spots! And so he continued struggling uselessly and howling with helpless laughter, realizing far too late that there was truly no way he could ever escape the torment…

“Yes~!” She grinned, wrapping her long, tickly tongue around each of his toes, one at a time, giggling with delight as she made him shriek with laughter.

“You’re so helplessly ticklish… I don’t understand why you continue to resist,” Himiko spoke as she continued tormenting him without missing a beat, moving her tail up to tickle across his chest before sliding it back down to nuzzle between his legs coyly.

If Inuyasha had any answer to her question, it was probably personal pride. He wanted to fight back as hard as he could, especially with the risk of being walked in on by Kagome – who’d no doubt want to find him – but all this ticklish teasing felt amazing, even if the tongue coiling around his toes was absolute hell, as was her tail brushing against his sides…

“AAHHAHAHHAHAHHAH NONONONONOOOO HHAHAHEHEHHEHEHE AREN’T YOU GONNAHHAHAHHA GIMME A BREHEHEHEAK SOOHOHOON?!”

“Mmmm… Fine.” With some reluctance, she moved her limbs away for the moment, stopping the combination attack and letting him rest by rubbing his feet expertly.

“Such a big, strong boy… Who’d guess that you love being tickled so much?” She licked her lips as she coiled her tail around his bare upper body, like she was hugging him. “I do adore tickling your big, handsome feet, you know. Why not push that nasty pride aside and let me keep you around just a little bit longer? I could make you happy eeevery siiingle day~” Her voice was tempting and seductive, as was the feeling as she kept rubbing those big feet.

Gasping, panting, and moaning in pleasure, he wondered if he should really accept – there were people out there who needed him, but the offer was just far too tempting… Especially since she knew everything there was to know about pleasing him… Perhaps Kagome could learn a thing or two from him….

Kagome…

“I… I actually need t’ get back to my friends,” he whispered. “Not now, but… eventually. I can’t really stay forever, not while I have things t’ do. But maybe I could, y’know… visit every so often?”

She pouted at him, coiling her tail a little more around him, teasingly swiping her feathery tail end under his chin.

“You’re frustratingly devoted you know that~? Very well, my cute little tickle puppy… I’ll agree to let you go: As long as you accept that I’ll never stop trying to convince you to stay every time you come to visit~!” She wrapped up the foot massage with a triumphant grin on her face, no doubt having secured a very appealing recurring visitor.

“I… I guess I could,” he replied, laughing nervously and straining his meaty toes against their bindings. “It’s a deal.”

“Good little puppy. Now… Give your mistress a big, hearty laugh~!” She growled excitedly as she started scratching and tickling under and between his toes while her tail moved back to his right armpit, fluttering quickly against the helpless skin.

Oh, Himiko was going to enjoy this. He was going to know the true meaning of ‘Tickle Torture’.

Sure enough, he couldn’t take it, instantly breaking down with a SHRIEK of helpless laughter. He would swear he could feel a bulge in his pants, even, as the maddening tickles drove him out of his mind.

“AAIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEHEHEHHEHHEEEEE HEHHEHEHE NOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOOO! HAHAHHAHAH I DIDN’T EHEHEHEH I CAHAHAHAN’T! MEHEHEHEHERRCEEEHHEHEHEHEEEEE!!!”

She cackled in amusement, scribbling 20 fingers up and down those big, meaty soles while her other two hands slowly walked up his legs towards that bulge…

“No mercy for you little puppy~ You’re going to be tickled for days and days before I let you go~” She cooed, fluttering her tail all over his belly and chest now…

All Inuyasha could do was laugh and moan and scream almost without stopping, worrying that he wouldn’t be able to breathe. He already felt a little lightheaded, and even as her hands began moving towards his crotch, he could only watch, his eyes widening even more than they had a second earlier. “WHAHAHAHAT ARE YOU DOHOHOHOING NOHOHOOWWW?!”

“What does it look like~?” She smirked devilishly, sliding her hands along his thighs before her nails began to skitter along his bulge, tickling there as well~

“I said I was gonna make you happy~” She winked sultrily, digging her nails ruthlessly between his toes and raking his arches all the while. Her feather tail also swished back and forth across his firm belly~

“THIS ISN’T WHAHAHAHAT I MEHEHEHEHEANT!!!” he squealed, unable to stop himself feeling more and more aroused as his legs and stomach and crotch were also being tormented alongside his helpless soles. If she kept this up and especially the teasing of his privates, he was sure he would unload within just a few minutes!

“Mmmm, well, too bad~” She taunted, scribbling her claws against those lovely soles of his while her tail wiggled into his armpits. Her other hands scratched and teased his privates continuously, refusing to give him even a little bit of a break to re-compose himself… She was going to work him down till he couldn’t take it anymore!

The poor half-demon was howling and thrashing about piteously in his restraints, unable to stop himself getting harder by the second; he had no coherence left and certainly no grasp of how much time was passing by, for all he knew now was the maddening sensations on his feet and pits and especially his loins, all of which were causing the pressure to build up deep inside the latter.

It seemed as though she recognized this as well. Now she switched her hands and tail feather around, the latter starting to swish around in between and around his restrained toes while she worked his pits and ribs and nipples with two of her four deft and deadly hands. Her remaining fingers seemed to focus very specifically upon his member as it slowly became more and more erect, engorging involuntarily and leaving it more and more vulnerable. Even under his pants, it was powerless to escape as it stuck up like some kind of tent.

“And now,” Himiko hissed in her deliciously charming fashion, “to give you the pleasure you so desire…”

He could only watch in growing alarm as two of her hands began to tease his pants off of his waist, the other two keeping him distracted by starting to rub their fingertips lightly over the ends of his nipples, now stiffened and hardened and very much exposed as well. He couldn’t even struggle as he felt his stiffie starting to bend downwards in a bit of a painful angle, but that was of little consequence – it was less than a minute before Inuyasha’s pants had been pulled down to his knees, his cock and balls completely exposed, his dick already oozing pre-cum onto his crotch.

With a smirk as playful as it was cruel, the serpent-lady stuck one of her index fingers into his bone-white pubic hair and wiggled it around. At this, he threw his head back, nearly banging it against the back of his chair, and let out a SHRIEK of laughter as he realized that his most intimate parts were about to be subjected to the same ticklish experience as everywhere else on his body. This suspicion was only further validated as she started running that same finger along the upper side of his cock, eliciting even higher-pitched screams as it made its way up towards the bulbous head. He arched his back and flattened his canine ears against his hair, worrying that this erotic teasing, more than any attempt at his life, was going to make him lose his mind!

He could feel his balls begin to swell a little, the pressure continuing to grow as her fingers started teasing the very tip of his stiffie, her nails lightly scratching SO CLOSE to his leaking slit. Her other two hands abandoned the vulnerable pits and nipples in light of the new source of her occupation, and descended upon his ballsack, starting to lightly tease the sides of his balls as well.

“Yessssss, that’s it,” she whispered. “Laugh for me, demon boy, laaaaaugh~”

“AAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH YOHOHOHOUUUUU SNAHAHAHAKE!!!” Inuyasha screamed loudly, the back of his head now bumping repeatedly against the seat back of his “throne”. “I DIDN’T AHAHAHASK FOR THIHIHIHISSSSS!!”

“I suppose it’s my fault for not providing any fine print, huh?” she replied dryly. “Now, let me show you how sssssnake-like I can be~!”

Now all four of her hands moved down and began tickling his swelling, throbbing ballsack, two of them reaching underneath and gently scratching the backs of his nards, making him shriek and shudder in his restraints, too disoriented by his own laughter to focus on any specific torment – the tail feather waving up and down each long, ticklish arch in turn, or the twenty fingernails tormenting his loins. And now she was adding one more torture: her tongue, extending from her mouth like that of a great serpent, made contact with the head of his cock, the very tips of them sliding around and around very close to the slit, more and more pre-cum pouring from it and sliding down his member.

No amount of begging and pleading from a now thoroughly broken Inuyasha could stop Himiko now. Two of her hands moved upwards, her nails – all ten of them – proceeding to wiggle along the underside of his cock, while the forked ends of her tongue continued polishing the head and weeping slit, causing him to lose all coherence whatsoever and scream at the ceiling nonstop, unable to even draw a breath for more than a fraction of a second.

And then, by some apparent miracle, everything was gone. He opened his eyes, finding himself in the same cavern and restrained in the same way, Himiko turning and slithering back around, seemingly in preparation for freeing him from his restraints. For one blissful moment, his torture seemed like it was over.

That is, until he remembered something else.

He hadn’t released yet.

She gave him a look that was part teasing, part inquiring. He instantly realized what she was silently asking. And he knew the answer almost immediately.

“Please,” he whimpered, his cock throbbing, his toes struggling to curl despite being completely secured to the stocks the entire time. “P-please… pleeeeeeeease… Just l-let me cum…!”

“Wish…” Himiko moved to face his helpless size fifteens, and then her tail curled forward, the feather closing in on his pulsating cock even as his eyes widened in horrified realization of what the fate he had damned himself to suffer.

“…granted.”

All twenty fingers suddenly scribbled into his soles and the bases of his toes, every inch of foot bottom skin seemingly covered in tickly nails. At the same time, that damned tail feather positioned itself just right, and sawed right in between the lips of his cum slit, delivering the most intense sensation yet, dragging itself along the opening before sweeping all the way down the underside of his cock, and then repeating the same motion in reverse. Once. Twice. Three times…

This time, his laughter went completely silent, his whole body shuddering, his crotch thrusting, his feet pushing forward and unwittingly exposing even more taut sole skin for her fingers to tickle, his loins throbbing and pulsating harder and harder as the tickles intensified over his dick…

There was a sudden howl, almost animalistic in its tone, and a splattering of milky white, as Inuyasha unleashed a high-pressure spray of warm, sticky cum, splattering all over his chest and abs, even getting a bit of it on his face. The explosive spurting continued, several more blasts of semen being shot out like a miniature volcanic eruption. The release was so intense, in fact, that his felt as though his balls were almost deflating, like wineskins being emptied, as all the cum seemed to be drawn out of his body with tremendous, almost supernatural force.

Then the dizziness kicked in. His vision became blurry, beginning to darken around the edges, and he felt all the strength inside of him begin to fade into nothing. He would swear he saw Himiko, that damned serpent demon, withdraw her feathery tail, swiping a finger along it before sticking said finger into her mouth. The last thing he heard was a gentle moan of pleasure and one final, teasing statement:

“Such a shame I couldn’t get all of that gathered in a cleaner fashion. Ah, well. There’s a lot more where that came from, I’m sure…”

*****

Consciousness returned to Inuyasha to find him lying on a soft, grassy field. He could feel that his pants were now covering his lower body completely once again, and that his shirt was also back over his body. He was also, in spite of being drenched with his own cum earlier, entirely clean and dry.

Groggily, he sat up, wondering what the hell had just happened. It was like he’d had quite a vivid dream, seeming almost real in how it had made his feet, pits, belly, and even his crotch tingle as though they had been tickled to near insanity. And yet here he was, completely unharmed.

A thought occurred to him, and he started looking around frantically, trying to find his sword, until his eyes fell upon it lying right next to him on the grass. He swiftly seized it to sheathe for the next time he needed to fight, but it was only a second later that he noticed that under the hilt, there was a folded-up sheet of paper, the kind one would find in a traditional scroll.

He picked up the paper, unfolding it, and blinked in surprise. There was writing on it, surprisingly elegant, the message simple and clear – that whomever had written on the note and left it there had enjoyed their time with him and certainly hoped he’d come back soon. There was also a drawing on it, a map of the land including the nearest town. There, marked with a large X and a written label, was “Himiko’s”.

The half-demon glanced around furtively, and then stowed the note away. He had business of his own to attend to, but any means of keeping track of his friends’ location would be worth it to at least somebody. But he’d wasted his time, involuntarily, having taken that bizarre detour that had only led to his being driven to utter madness by that strange, strange serpent woman.

With that thought, he stood up, sheathed his sword, and then raced off to find Kagome and the others – though not before silently promising to keep this experience to himself and himself alone.

Next time, he thought to himself, he’d look elsewhere for that blasted demon piece.

Though maybe, he added in his head, it’d be worth paying “Himiko” a second visit first…


End file.
